1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to formulations of compounds discovered in marine organisms for pharmaceutical use in treating malaria and to methods of treatment of malaria.
2. The Related Art
The urgency for more new and effective antimalarials escalates as Plasmodium falciparum and other human malaria parasite species have developed resistance to most of the commercially available antimalarials.sup.(1, 16, 24). Structurally and functionally novel antimalarial agents are in need as a monotherapeutic agent or for use in combined chemotherapy with other presently available drugs.sup.(23). While most of the antimalarial drugs, for example chloroquine, are products of chemical synthesis, the discovery of artemisinin from the Chinese medical herb Artemisia annua L.sup.(21, 27) as a potent antimalarial has rekindled interest in screening natural products for new antimalarials.sup.(20, 25, 26). Generally, screening programs focus on terrestrial plant-derived natural products and microbial metabolites due to their abundance and easy accessibility.sup.(14, 17, 18, 19, 28). However, there have been some recent efforts and limited successes in discovery of novel antimalarial compounds from marine organisms.sup.(2, 3, 22).